The People's White House: Duke Administration (On my Farewell)

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

The People's Office

Welcome The People's White House. Here, you may find useful information as you wade through the game we call Atlasia. This thread is designed to give The People more access to the executive office than ever before. Gone are the days where the President is smarter than the rest of you. Now, he is one of you. Feel free to leave questions, comments, concerns, complains or death threats here.

Below, you will find the current team we like to fondly call the Duke Administration. You may also like us on Facebook and use that as another way to reach us.

Here is our A-Team:

President: Duke
Vice President: Cincinnatus
Chief of Staff: RowanBrandon
Press Secretary/Policy Advisor: HappyWarrior
SoIA: Cincinnatus
GM: Simfan
SoEA: Superique
Attorney General: Simfan
SoFE: Homelycooking
Deputy SoFE: Talleyrand
Registrar General: Fritz

Thanks for reading, have fun!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

*****Let it been known*****

This White House endorses Cincinnatus for pacific governor. He will serve The People like a prodtitute serves her pimp until the day he leaves office. He has our vote.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Don't worry homely my man, I am not speaking for you! I wouldn't dare!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Best of luck to you, baby!

You looked great in your gown during the inaugural ball the other night, sweetheart.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Friends,

I am primed to veto my first of many bills, and before the picket lines begin to form outside this esteemed White House, I felt it was only right that I give my reasons to you, The People, on why I committed this injustice.

The bill in question is the Fair Labor Standards Act of 2013. My reservation is over one particular clause in this bill that I would otherwise sign - the clause that bans all unpaid internships. Now, many of you may ask, Duke, don't you care for the poor, helpless student who can barely afford Wendy's after a night of drinking? Yes! That is exactly why I am vetoing this bill.

My friends, unpaid internships are a learning experience. People gain invaluable experience and memories during those summers working for Congress or a corporation, and these internships typically open doors to these students that otherwise would never appear. When faced with the choice to pay interns or shut down programs entirely, businesses and the government will likely chose the ladder, and our government's actions will be responsible for the eradication of these opportunities.

I will not be the one to allow that. When I was elected in an overwhelming mandate, I was elected to GROW our economy, provide MORE opportunities for all women, men and children, and rid us of the shackles that have been holding our economy back for too long.

I am in favor of perhaps regulating these internships to treat their employees decently and give them meaningful work, but a provision like that would ultimately have no teeth. I understand the concerns many have over internships, especially after the death of the Bank of America employee this summer. That said, we cannot allow FEAR to drive us to pass a bill that will ultimately hurt our employment and opportunities for our young people even more.

I am a friend to the young and attractive ladiescitizens of this nation.

Feel free to leave questions, comments, etc, here, and either I or my press secretary will get back to you.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am willing to accept a redraft concerning the unpaid internship section, especially now that we've got Nixcome as law. I implore you not to veto the bill but send it back to us with a redraft.

Sure, that's my intention. Don't worry.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am willing to accept a redraft concerning the unpaid internship section, especially now that we've got Nixcome as law. I implore you not to veto the bill but send it back to us with a redraft.

Sure, that's my intention. Don't worry.

Thank you Mr. President!

Oh, no need to thank me. I was not familiar with how the redraft process worked since, well, this is my first time being President. I never intended to veto the entire bill. I just did not like the bit on internships and was not President during the debate.

After these initial bills are passed, expect me, for better or worse, to be a frequent contributor to senate discussion so we can all be on the same page.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Regional Reform

Friends,

Currently on the floor of the Senate, there is a bill that attempts to place a bandaid over the regional question, and that, in my view, is a bit short sighted.

During the campaign, I unveiled a revolutionary plan that will do to Atlasia what the iPhone did for the mobile phone market. In that plan, I called for a reduction of the regions to 3 and a bicameral legislative branchI also included provisions that allow me to consolidate power and become king. Moving forward, I intend, if the Senate votes down the current bill, to open a thread allowing all Atlasians to participate in this debate.

We have all decided on a map to use, one that is aesthetically pleasing and makes sense. Now, we need to match the map with a coherent plan forward. As President, I was elected to hold all of your hands and lead this debate. If we are going to go the route of regional reduction, we need to do it right and do it big. My plan serves as a framework to accomplish just that.

In the next few days, we will get started with this debate. I encourage all Atlasians to participate regardless of how you feel about regional reduction or my plan. It is not the Holy Bible. It can change. This is our future we are talking about. Even if nothing comes of this, at least you can say you participated in the matter.

Thanks for reading, and I love you all.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Yes, we must have deadlines, otherwise we are likely to debate this ad nauseam.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

OK

With Homely's resignation, I am nominating former registrar general Fritz for the position. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am thrilled that Fritz accepted the job! I felt all hope was lost when homely resigned. It's like losing a girlfriend you dated for two years.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Duke, you trying to tell us something? Do you need to talk?

If you haven't noticed, it has been a rough few days this week. We lost Griffin and Homely, at least temporarily, and I had way too much to drink yesterday. I am happy to report I have not lost anyone women, so all is well in that department. Rest assured, my administration is busy at work trying to hold things together as we weather these difficult times.... God save us all

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Yes, but thank you for your concern. My personal life will be a fixture in this game, my affairs, scandals, etc, so I hope you continue to inquire about them as we go forward.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I am going out of town this weekend to my alma matter's homecoming. I will have my phone with me, but if I am less than active between now and Sunday, that's why. I am not abandoning you - far from it. I will be celebrating each and every one of youwith a weekend long binger full of beer, bourbon and football.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

I'm back. We may now resume our regularly scheduled programs.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Homecoming was terrific. It was nice that I was able to sleep in a real bed this year and not in a car/on the floor like last time.

And no, Jack, I have not yet, but I will take a look at it when I get the chance tomorrow. I am finishing a paper tonight to turn in for my corporate tax class.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Statement on Labor

I am happy to announce the Senate and I have passed and signed the Fair Labor Standards Act of 2013, a bill that will surely continue to protect and fight for the good of the worker and to ensure they are more than just a slave in the labor camp. Humans of all walks of life must be treated with dignity and respect, and I thank the Senate for such a thoughtful bill and for working with me to get it passed.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Statement on Labor

I am happy to announce the Senate and I have passed and signed the Fair Labor Standards Act of 2013, a bill that will surely continue to protect and fight for the good of the worker and to ensure they are more than just a slave in the labor camp. Humans of all walks of life must be treated with dignity and respect, and I thank the Senate for such a thoughtful bill and for working with me to get it passed.

You have given to labor a Magna Carta. Thank you for your tireless efforts and work on this, Mr. President.

Of course. Abolishing at will employment was something The People's Party proposed doing many moons ago. It was part of our platform! I am happy to finally see that archaic policy go the way of so many other archaic practices.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Today is a sad day. SirNick has informed me that he intends to resign as GM. While he did not serve long, many Atlasians grew to love the stories, the smiles and the tabloid he ran. Many of us eagerly anticipated his stories each day, but now, they are no more. Atlasia has weathered storms before, and yes, my first week in office has been a stormy one, but thankfully we can persevere. We all know better days lie ahead, because, well, how could they get worse?

For his replacement, I am nominating someone I have a long history with and someone who has held nearly every position he could in this game. This is a man that takes his job seriously, and I have no doubt he will serve to the best of his ability as GM.

So, I am pleased to announce I am nominating my friend and former President Averroes Nix to serve as our next GM. Let us all great him with open arms and a hearty pat on the back.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Good afternoon, friends. It has been a week or so since your benevolent leader checked in with The People, and I wanted to give you an update on where we are today and where we are going.

Corporate Tax Reform

This is something I ran on during the campaign. It is unclear as to how this is accomplished in Atlasia, but it seems it can be accomplished in a few manners. I plan to introduce a bill, assuming a Senator sponsors it, that will end all deferral methods corporations use to horde cash overseas to avoid taxation. This means that regardless of where a company derives its income, it will pay Atlasian taxes on the money. No more tax shelters.

Now, many of you will say, wait, this will hurt our competitiveness around the world! Wrong. To compliment this change, I will propose dropping the top rate from 35% to 25% and offer tax exempt status on the investments companies make HERE in ATLASIA, be it new infrastructure, factories, hiring ATLASIAN workers, etc. I want companies to invest in this country and not overseas, and my administration will make sure we give them incentive to do so. We are about GROWING our ECONOMY and JOB MARKET. I will work for this till I die.

FritzCare

SoIA Superique and I have been in contact recently about some domestic changes we wish to implement. In the next few days, we plan to introduce a bill calling for a FritzCare card to be given to all citizens. This move will save our government billions over the next few years and allow us to spend the savings on other things to benefit The People.

Education

This is always a hot topic, and I will admit I know very little about the policy. Thankfully, my advisors and friends do. My administration plans to introduce an education bill in the next few weeks with the help of IDS Rep Scott. We aim to focus very heavily on improving our sciences and implementing programs by working with corporations to start apprenticeships, allowing students to gain access to these companies and further increasing their likelihood at obtaining a job upon graduation.


These are but a few ways we think will help our economy continue to recover. We look forward to working with the Senate and The People over the next few weeks to accomplish these goals for the good of Atlasia!

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

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I have proposed the following bill to the Senate. I am confident if passed, we will see an influx of money back into this country, which will undoubtedly improve our nation's economy, job market, and make Atlasia the place to do business.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

We are already reducing Corporate rates to the brackets you have (though the Nix one actually has 0% tax rate up to 100K). As for the rest of the bill, I am for it.

I was unsure about what we had done and how to change the current tax code. Nix seemed to think we could pass it in the budget or keep it separate, but either way, I would like to see this done so we can encourage domestic growth and discourage offshore cash hoarding.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Okay. If our rates are already lower, I can modify the original bill. The rest of it still will be good for our economy, especially if we hadn't closed our deferral and tax shelter loopholes.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

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I just proposed the above bill as well. I am no expert on healthcare law, but I strongly favor taking the system entirely electronic, because the savings over time are too great to ignore. We can invest that money in other areas of Atlasia besides in our healthcare bureaucracy.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

This sounds good, however, what those who do not have access to the internet (Poor, rural, elderly) or can not maneuver the internet (elderly come to mind) especially something as important as healthcare.

We will leave that task up to the regions. They will be in charge of making sure everyone is given a card and registered properly. I don't expect to burden poor people with having to do it on their own on internet they have no access to.